vulnax999

iTrader: (7)

PC freezes about 5 - 7 minutes after booting up. Whether doing nothing or in use.
Won't respond to CTRL-ALT-DELETE or front power button, have to power down on PSU switch.

On booting up again it will stay fine for hours, even days!

Any ideas what is happening? What to fix ??

PC is own build last oct, Abit K9N SLi motherboard with AMD 4200+ 64 x2 cpu and cooler, matched 2 x 1 gb 800 MHz DIMM memory from Overclockers , and PCi Express 7300GT graphics card. 600 watt PSU, some brand name I forget!

Works superbly otherwise, but this initial boot - use - freeze - off - reboot is a pain.


I have latest bios and drivers for board and cards etc. and windows XP updates, anti virus etc.

I have adjusted voltages and some timings to no avail. Although I DID stop it doing this via some setting in bios I forget which, before last bios update and reset , which reset the bios settings!


Any help welcome.
The total freeze looks like CPU/graphics card instability... have changed the RAM and still does it so not that.


Cheers

hux309

What psu does it have, you'd be amazed at how many skimp and buy a cheap no name brand.

I would have said memory but seeing you have tried that, can you catch what code on the bsod is being thrown up?

vulnax999

iTrader: (7)

Hi, thanks for the reply!

It was some brand name PSU, 600 watt to suit dual core processors on AM2 m'boards with all the right connectors etc.

I don't get an error, the PC just freezes up and 3 fingered reset or even front ( soft) power off doesn't do anything. PSU power off asnd back on, restart from front switch, and is fine all day / night! Something needs waring up perhaps?

Memory changed from A-Data 800MHz DDR2 to Overclockers Gail matched pairs.

Overclocking CPU speed/volts or not, the PC shows same issues, even if using default BIOS settings!

Ohh well, keep at it!

hux309

Id still be inclined to look further at that psu, a lot of the time the ratings are very conservative.

Antec,enermax,tagan,seasonic,corsair,thermaltake.

They are fairly decent brands, try a friends psu.

I had a 550w psu that went on me, pc randomly turning off pc locking up etc.

If it was the cpu you pc probably wouldn't post at all, so that leaves motherboard or psu.

Failing that try this voltage tester, could give you a better idea of what is going on.

X-Clio PSU and Port Tester With LED - Ebuyer

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

Decent brans PSUs are more reliable, but they can still fail. I've killed a Chieftec and an Antec, plus a non name crappie one. The Antec that died was really expensive £100+ (fortunately under warranty).

I would almost certainly suggest that this is a PSU issue. Best way is to use a spare PSU for testing. Borrow a friend's if you have to. Voltage checks can help you out, but they are not always going to give you the answer.

bob269

I'd also make sure your processor fan is working fine and not intermitently stopping, the cpu will shut down if it isnt cooled correctly.

vulnax999

iTrader: (7)

Cheers.

I'll pop off the side and check all wires and graphics card, CPU in tight, and make of PSU.

Gone back to std bios defaults and still hung in first 5 mins but ok an hour later, BUT has stopped twice in last 36 hours after the initial freeze.

For the cost of a high wattage PSU, OK may not be top brand name but may as well swop it out ( only got an old low watt one available to try ) fora while.


I was wondering about the motherboard actually, as it's a solid freeze when the PC hangs up, with no warning messages or temp / fan alerts.


I'll get back to you

bioforger

iTrader: (1)

I dunno why PSU's have been mentioned as a cause, if you have PSU issues you almost certainly will get a BSOD. This problem sounds like dodgy ram to me. I know you say its new/replaced, but it might be faulty and/or it might of been damaged by static when you installed the dimms. Run memtest on the machine overnight to rule it out.

hux309

Could very well be but seeing as he has replaced them once already the likelihood of it happening is slim, ive never had it happen in 15 years of fiddling with pc parts.

Going back to default further indicates psu as it's placing less load on the system.

If you want to check the memory run memtest and see what it says, it's free so nothing 2 minutes of googling won't sort, but geil is very reliable.

Just try to get the version that runs in windows, the dos version is better but hassle to run if you don't know your way about.

Oh when you whip the side off check no dust is clogging up the cpu hsf, it could very well be a temp issue.

vulnax999

iTrader: (7)

Right, back with you.

Checked all bits were plugged in tight and CPU fan is on tight ( had thermal paste when fitted! ).
Also cheked for dust on fans .. was a bit but they were working ok.
I use the Abit EQ monitoring tool for voltages and fan speeds and temps .. it only alarmed on odd voltages recently .. Hmmm maybe ... a power problem! The Geil memory needs 2.2v, so I set bios up for that, and EQ was set for ... 2.21 as alarm! hehe. Although think I had power warnings on PCIe too before ...

Swaped out 550W ( not 600w doh!) PSU .. was a "name" but cheap name looks like - COLORSit .. ? Never heard of em actually! Fitted Overclockers.com OCZ Stealth Stream 600W PSu, very nice an quiet, and on boot up... no freeze after 5 mins orso! Ran fine all night.



BUT ... big Butt .... tonight, put PC on, got into windows ( xp ) andwhen I came back to it a few mins later , HAD FROZEN!
Reboot, ok for a while then a couple hours in FROZE again when switching between tasks .....

I'll se how it fares with new DDR2 memory and new decent PSU, and I think it may be motherboard with a dry joint or similar... what's the latest equivalent of Abit K9N ( don't use the Sli ... ) these days ?


Cheers guys

Neil

vulnax999

iTrader: (7)

Finally, I changed motherboard. ( had changed PSU, DDR2 800 DIMMS, and used std bios settings and reset bios on m/bd .. )


Problems gone away!


Must have been a motherboard glitch ...



But while I was on with this, put a AMD64x2 6000+ CPU in, o/clocked via ntune to 7000+ ! hehe!

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

Very glad you have sorted it. You've had a nightmare of an issue. Sometimes component swapping is the only way to go to get a fix. I have had a mobo and graphics card that both worked fine separately in other machines, but refused to work together (even though they were meant to be compatible).

Sometimes strange things like this just happen. At least you are running nicely now

vulnax999

iTrader: (7)

Yeah, it's fast and stable now, cheers, thanks for the ideas guys!